Seacoast communities may owe feds over landfill

Mar. 04, 2018

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. (AP) — Officials in several Seacoast communities are reeling over news that the federal government may have to be reimbursed "in excess of $5 million" for work that was never done at a Superfund site.

The Portsmouth Herald reports that taxpayers of Portsmouth, North Hampton and Newington may have be on the hook for the failure to install a pump and groundwater treatment system at the Coakley Landfill site in North Hampton, New Hampshire.

Democratic Rep. Renny Cushing of Hampton called it "one of life's great mysteries" that the Coakley Landfill Group never installed a treatment system after receiving more than $5 million.

The Record of Decision was signed nearly 28 years ago. But there has never been a treatment system installed and there are no plans to do so.